Ignatius of Loyola

Until the age of 26 he was a man given to the vanities of the world. He was born in 1491 Basque country of northern Spain. As a boy he served as a page in the court of a local nobleman, and later distinguished himself as a valiant soldier. In his soldering career, his leg was struck by a cannonball in a battle at Pamplona in 1521. Confined to his sick bed, Inigo asked a relative for some books. All she could offer was “Imitation of Christ” and “Life is saints.” To his great surprise, the soldier found himself attracted to the lives of the saints and began thinking. If St. Francis or Dominic could do such-and –such, may be I could do great things. Thinking about doing great deeds for God, he was left with the feeling of peace – what he termed “consolation.” Thinking about success as a soldier or impressing a particular woman, though he was initially filled with great enthusiasm, he would later be left feeling “dry”- “desolation.” This realization also marked the beginning of his understanding of “discernment” in the spiritual life, a way of striving to seek God’s will in one’s life, a key concept of Ignatian spirituality.
After his recovery first he made a pilgrimage to a well-known monastery in Spain, in Montserrat, where he confessed his sins, laid aside his knightly armor, and put on the homespun grab of a pilgrim. From Montserrat, Inigo journeyed to a nearby small town called Manresa, where he lived the life of a poor pilgrim, fasting continually and begging for alms. In the end, his prayer made him more certain that he was being called to follow God more closely. Inigo spent several months in seclusion in Manresa, experiencing prayer that grew ever deeper, and then commenced his journey to Jerusalem.
After a series of mishaps in Jerusalem and elsewhere, he decided that to accomplish anything note withy in the church of his time, he would need more education and perhaps even to become a priest. He had to sit in a class- at age thirty- with small boys learning their Latin lessons.
While studying in Paris, Inigo attracted attention as a result of his ascetic penchant for dressing in the poorest clothes, begging for alms, helping the poor, and assisting other students in prayer. Gradually, Ignatius gathered around him a tight-knit group of six men, who decided they would work together in the service of God. Eventually, the men decided to form the Company of Jesus, for the purpose of “helping souls.” He was ambitious to do great things ad majorem Dei gloriam – for the greater glory of God – Magis – the best, the highest, the most for God.
Ignatius found God everywhere: in the poor, in prayer, in the Mass, in his fellow Jesuits, in his work, and, most touchingly, on the balcony of the Jesuit house in Rome, where he loved to gaze up silently at the stars at night. During these times he would shed tears in wonder and adoration.
Ignatius was a mystic who loved God with an intensity rare even for saints. He loved God and loved the world, and those two things he did quite well.
At heart, Ignatian spirituality flows from the saint’s most famous work, The Spiritual Exercises. It was the fruit of his prayer and his experience in helping others pray. What has been called his greatest gift to the church has enabled thousands of men and women – Jesuits, priests, sisters, brothers, lay persons – from almost every Christian denomination to experience a deep intimacy with God. This spirituality that enables everyone to see God in all things. The goal of Ignatian spirituality can be summed up in another succinct expression: desiring to become a “contemplative in action,” a person who maintains a contemplative stance in an active life.
Ignatius prayer “Take, O Lord, and receive all my liberty,
My memory, my understanding, and all my will-
All that I have and possess.
You, Lord, have given all that to me.
I now give it back to you, O Lord.
All of it is yours.
Dispose of it according to your will.
Give me love of yourself along with grace.
For that is enough for me.
It is a prayer of total surrender. I offer you everything, God all I need is your love and grace. This is all I need to be "YES, ALIVE."